Colorado State president Tony Frank’s Saturday announcement that he is recommending forging ahead with the on-campus stadium project wasn’t a surprise, but rather confirmation of what seemed inevitable.

Yet it was monumental nonetheless. It’s expected that the CSU system’s board of governors will approve his recommendation at its Friday meeting in Denver.

Here’s my story. Originally Saturday, that link took you to the full, breaking-news version posted in the morning, but now it takes you to the shortened version that was recast for print and went through the editing process. In the wake of that, let me make this clear: This is not a done deal, not at $220 million or anything else. Again, the board still has to approve Frank’s recommendation. Sure, that board approval is likely, or maybe even more than likely, but I repeat … this is not a done deal. And Frank makes clear there would be details, mostly about financing, to hammer out and bring back to the board.

Here’s Frank’s communication with the university community on Saturday: Read more…

It sounds as if the crowd at this Colorado State-Air Force game is going to be much better than originally anticipated, despite the fact that there are only about 300 cadets remaining in campus during the Thanksgiving break.

Colorado State fans have stepped up and active military in the area essentially have been invited to take the place of the cadets.

So here’s the weekly roundup of games that might affect Colorado State in the national rankings — Associated Press (media), USA Today (coaches) and most important at this stage, the College Football Playoff top 25. The Rams go into the game against Air Force at No. 21 in AP and USA Today, unranked in the CFP. The usual stipulations come into play, meaning I don’t think teams should drop far — if at all — after a loss to opponents ranked ahead of them. I’ll periodically touch up and update in bold when I can.

Yes, CSU lost 27-24. I’m going to be heretical here and say that a road loss to a pretty good, three-loss Air Force team shouldn’t cause the Rams to fall out of the top 25 in the AP and USA Today polls — but I know it almost certainly will. But for the heck of it …

FRIDAY

— Western Kentucky at Marshall (19 AP, 20 USA Today, 24 CFP). Final: Western Kentucky 67, Marshall 66, OT. The Hilltoppers went for two after scoring in the first overtime, disdaining the safe PAT to extend the game. I don’t know why more teams don’t do that, especially when underdogs on the road. So cross off Marshall as a top 25 team in any of the rankings and also rule out the Thundering Herd as a possibility for the CFP’s access bowl slot that goes to the highest-rated champion from a non-power league.

— Arizona State (13, 13, 13) at Arizona (12, 12, 11). The loser would have to look awful to sink far enough to affect the Rams. Final: Arizona 42, Arizona State 35. No reason for the Sun Devils to drop.

Utah and Colorado face off at Folsom Field on Nov. 29, 2014. (Andy Cross, The Denver Post)

Here is the final installment of the season for my weekly “Five things to watch” — this time for Saturday’s 11 a.m. (Pac-12 Network) conference matchup between Utah and Colorado in Boulder.

1. Can Colorado’s defense keep Utah junior Devontae Booker from running wild? Booker has netted 1,255 yards through 11 games and trails UCLA’s Paul Perkins by only 10 yards in the race for the Pac-12 rushing title. Utah isn’t pass-happy like most Pac-12 teams. So if the Buffs can keep Booker somewhat under control, it would improve the odds greatly for Colorado.

2. Will CU junior receiver Nelson Spruce finish the season with a flurry? In recent weeks, opposing defenses have been determined to not let Spruce beat them. And they’ve done a good job of that. Spruce has averaged 7.5 catches for the past six games after averaging 11.2 receptions for the first five games. Spruce has been kept out of the end zone for the past four games. If he doesn’t score a TD against Utah, that may not bode well for the Buffs.

CU head coach Mike MacIntyre watches his players during the morning practice on March 14, 2014. (Cliff Grassmick, Daily Camera)

It sounds strange, perhaps, but Colorado coach Mike MacIntyre said he told the team’s fifth-year seniors that he gives thanks for having played or redshirted under three different head coaches as they did.

Ready to play their final game as a Buff, Colorado’s fifth-year seniors include offensive lineman Kaiwi Crabb, tailback Tony Jones, offensive guard Daniel Munyer, tight end Kyle Slavin and safety Terrel Smith.

Another fifth-year senior, safety Jered Bell, intends to petition to the NCAA for a rare sixth season of eligibility, having lost two seasons to knee injuries that involved ACL tears.

The fifth-year players will be joined by 15 other seniors who will trot onto Folsom Field for a final time Saturday in the 11 a.m. game against Utah.

MacIntyre said he has a soft spot in his heart for all the seniors. But he had a special message to the fifth-year players who were recruited by Dan Hawkins and either redshirted or played under Hawkins in 2010 before playing for Jon Embree (2011-12) and then MacIntyre.

MacIntyre told the six that he also played or redshirted under three coaches. A defensive back, MacIntyre began at Vanderbilt (1985-85) under his father, George MacIntyre. When George MacIntyre was fired, Mike transferred to Georgia Tech, where he sat out the transfer year (1986) under Bill Curry and played for Bobby Ross (1987-88).

“I can honestly tell them that I went through the same exact thing,” MacIntyre said. “I told them that from the first day I walked in here. I had four different position coaches.

“I know exactly how they feel. We didn’t win one ACC (Atlantic Coast Conference) game my last year. But coach Ross kept telling us how we set (a foundation), how we kept working at it and kept pushing. Two years later, Georgia Tech won (a share of) the national championship (with Colorado).

“So I’ve been through it, and have seen it. I see us building and doing that. These young men truly leave a foundation,” MacIntyre added. “When I look back, of course I would have loved to have won more games. But when I got into coaching, (learning under three head coaches) truly helped me.”

Colorado cross country coach Mark Wetmore congratulates his team after they won the national title during the NCAA Cross Country Championships in Terre Haute, Ind., on Saturday, Nov. 22, 2014. (James Brosher, Special to the Denver Post)

The U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association named Wetmore the Bill Dellinger coach of the year, his third overall. He won also in 2006 and 2013, when Colorado won national titles but were not favored coming into the race. Colorado became the first team in 18 years of USTFCCCA polling to be the unanimous No. 1 rank and go on to win the championship.

“This is probably our best team ever,” Wetmore told The Post’s John Meyer after the race. “This is certainly the best third, fourth and fifth (runners) we’ve ever had. They’re real good and they belong in the pantheon.”

Colorado State running back Dee Hart scores against San Jose State. Tony Avelar, The Associated Press)

FORT COLLINS — It was a busy Tuesday for the scribes (and many others) covering Colorado State football.

First, we conducted interviews with Jim McElwain and the Rams’ players after practice, and by the time McElwain was done explaining which days were which on the real and football calendar this week because of the Friday game against Air Force, I thought it was Sunday and that I’d missed going to church. Tuesday, though, remained the major (and final) day of speaking with players, as usual, so we stockpiled material for the upcoming days. Read more…

FORT COLLINS — And a little while after the announcement that CSU’s Dee Hart was the Mountain West’s offensive player of the week came word that senior settler Deedra Foss is the league’s volleyball player of the week for the second time this season and the fourth time in her Rams career.

I’m about to run into Jim McElwain’s news conference, so I’m just going to paste in the bottom part of CSU’s news release on Foss and the volleyball team’s week. Read more…

Hart, a grad student pursuing a master’s degree in education and human resources, rushed for a career-high 230 yards and five touchdowns on 20 carries. Hart also had two receptions for 42 yards, including a 20-yard score. The six total touchdowns tie for the school record with former running back Kapri Bibbs, who rushed for six scores at New Mexico in 2013, and are the second-most in Mountain West history.

You read that correctly. Dee Hart, Colorado State’s star running back, tallied a total of six touchdowns — five rushing, one receiving — in the Rams’ 58-20 rout of New Mexico on Saturday.

In the second quarter, at the Lobos’ 2-yard-line, Hart took a handoff from Garrett Grayson and dove over a pile of players to land in the end zone and put the Rams up, 14-0. Photos of the touchdown are awesome, but the sideline view, above, is even better.

Garrett Grayson and 15 other seniors will be honored Saturday at CSU-New Mexico game (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

UPDATES IN BOLD.

Latest update: 8 p.m. As of this hour, the teams that either lost or looked bad enough to possibly drop in the rankings far enough to benefit CSU are Ole Miss, Marshall, Utah and Nebraska. USC is getting drilled by UCLA, and if that continues, the Trojans might join that group, too.

Colorado State goes into the weekend ranked 22nd in the Associated Press media poll, 23rd in the USA Today/coaches poll, and unranked in the College Football Playoff top 25. The CFP rankings particularly come into play to determine which champion from a non-power conference gets an access bowl berth.

The Rams, of course, must beat New Mexico for this to apply, and that’s not a given. FINAL: CSU 58, New Mexico 20.

If they do, here are the games that could affect the Rams in the rankings: Read more…

Here is my weekly installment of Five Things to Watch — this time for Saturday afternoon’s (2:30 p.m., Pac-12 Network) Colorado at No. 3 Oregon matchup:

1. Can Colorado’s defense contain Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota enough to keep the likely Heisman Trophy winner from running wild? As CU defensive coordinator Kent Baer said this week, there’s often nobody on the field fast enough to catch the 6-foot-5, 219-pound Hawaiian. “He’s the best I’ve seen,” Baer added.

2. Will CU redshirt freshman running back Phillip Lindsay follow up his 114 yards against Arizona with a productive effort against Oregon?

3. Can Buffs sophomore quarterback Sefo Liufau avoid the turnover bug? Liufau has been responsible for six giveaways in the past two games, with a combined three interceptions and three lost fumbles against Washington and Arizona.

4. How will Colorado’s safeties hold up against perhaps the nation’s most explosive offense? With five Buffs safeties down because of injuries, one former scout team member, ex-walk-on Richard Yates II, is expected to be a starter, and another, redshirt freshman walk-on Ryan Moeller, could be a top reserve.

5. And the obvious — How many snaps, if any, will CU backup quarterback Jordan Gehrke get?

University of Colorado’s Jered Bell runs back an interception for a touchdown during a game against Central Arkansas on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2013, at Folsom Field in Boulder. (Daily Camera file)

Colorado coach Mike MacIntyre said he has “never seen anything like it” when speaking about the Buffs’ safety spots.

Since the beginning of August camp, five CU safeties have been injured.

Here’s the list:

* Jered Bell — Senior lost for season with torn ACL on Aug. 15.
* Marques Mosley — Junior lost for season with ACL, MCL tears Oct. 25 vs. UCLA.
* Chidobe Awuzie — Sophomore likely done for season after lacerating a kidney during practice Nov. 4.
* Tedric Thompson — Sophomore has missed two games after suffering a concussion Oct. 25 against UCLA and is listed as questionable for Saturday’s game at Oregon.
* Evan White — True freshman suffered a concussion Nov. 8 at Arizona and is listed as questionable for this weekend’s game at Oregon.

Colorado’s starters at safety against the third-ranked Ducks are expected to be senior Terrel Smith and senior Richard Yates II, a former walk-on.

Walk-on Ryan Moeller, a freshman from Rifle, could be the top reserve.

“Guys that two weeks ago were on the scout team are now going to play,” MacIntyre said. “The good thing is that with the open date, the new guys got more time to prepare.”

Defensive coordinator Kent Baer shook his head when asked about the situation at safety.

FORT COLLINS — Before Colorado State’s Wednesday practice, Rams wide receivers coach Alvis Whitted talked about, among other things, the progress sophomore standout Rashard Higgins has made in his two seasons in the program.

More on that — also including Whitted’s gentle attempts to teach Higgins about Fred Biletnikoff — will be in my Thursday story in the paper and here.

Whitted also talked about the first time he crossed paths with Jim McElwain — when Whitted was a wide receiver with the Raiders, winding down his career, and McElwain was Oakland’s quarterbacks coach in his single-season foray into the NFL, in 2006. The Raiders were 2-14 and head coach Art Shell was fired after the season. That was Whitted’s final season as a player, and he was with Jacksonville from 1998-2001 before joining the Raiders in 2002. Read more…

BOULDER — After experiencing two winters and springs in the state of Colorado, CU football coach Mike MacIntyre has decided it’s OK to move up 2015 spring practice almost a month.

The first spring practice for 2015 will be on Friday, Feb. 13.

“I noticed it snows here just as much in March,” MacIntyre said. “Last year, really, it was nicer in February than it was in March. So it doesn’t really make any difference. We’ll practice outside some days and inside some days. This will allow us to get rolling earlier.”

The 2015 spring game will be held on the same day as the NCAA Basketball Committee reveals the NCAA Tournament bracket — Selection Sunday, March 15.

The 2014 CU spring game was held on April 12. In 2013, the first under MacIntyre, it was on April 13. Practices last spring began on March 7.

The early dates would allow more time for injured players to recover prior to August camp, MacIntyre said.

“I felt it was important to have the best team we can have when August hits,” MacIntyre said. “I feel good about that. And now we won’t have as much to install (although) we have a lot to improve.

“We’re going to lift all through spring too. You get 20 hours a week, and we’re going to lift more than we did last year. Our guys are in great condition, better than we’ve ever been. Now, we have to get bigger and stronger across the board with all our team.”

Colorado State Rams wide receiver Rashard Higgins makes a catch for a long reception against Air Force Falcons defensive back Justin DeCoud in the third quarter at Falcon Stadium on Nov. 28, 2014. (Andy Cross, The Denver Post)

I’m not a big fan of “watch lists,” especially if they come off as ridiculously inclusive and attempts to get press mention, and I try to only selectively pass along news of them.

But the news the last three days about Colorado State sophomore wide receiver Rashard Higgins has been more than just throwing his name onto a long list.

On Monday, he was named a semifinalist for the Biletnikoff Award, which goes to the top wide receiver in the country, and on Wednesday, he was named one of 15 “players to watch” for the Walter Camp Player of the Year Award. Both of those awards are prestigious and legitimate.

The five finalists for the Camp Award will be announced on Dec. 3, so this amounts to a list of semifinalists.

FORT COLLINS — With Colorado State’s Senior Day coming up at the New Mexico game Saturday, my story on how Jim McElwain accepted and got the most out of holdover players from the Steve Fairchild era — and vice versa — is in the Wednesday paper and online.

Most of the 16 seniors honored Saturday were in the program as true freshmen or redshirt freshmen under Fairchild in 2011.

As noted in the story, no new coach can run off everyone he inherits, in part because he has to field a team before he can make over the roster with several recruiting classes. So I don’t want to make too big a deal of this, but the point is, McElwain not only avoided the Fairchild’s players vs. McElwain’s players schism, he got the most out of the inherited players — as if they were his own.

That’s a lot harder than it sounds, because if holdover players sense the staff literally can’t wait to get rid of them, or simply don’t respect them as players, the chances of getting the most out of them is slim. It’s a bit of a tightrope. In his first three recruiting classes, McElwain’s staff brought in playmakers and difference makers, but he had no problem with accepting the holdovers who earned his trust.

I wasn’t able to get comments from more than two seniors — cornerback Bernard Blake and wide receiver Charles Lovett — in the story. Read more…

Kensler joined The Denver Post in 1989 and has covered a variety of beats, including Colorado, Colorado State, golf, Olympics and the Denver Broncos. His brush with greatness: losing in a two-on-two pickup basketball game at Ohio State against two-time Heisman Trophy winner Archie Griffin.

Terry Frei graduated from Wheat Ridge High School in the Denver area and has degrees in history and journalism from the University of Colorado-Boulder. He worked for the Rocky Mountain News while attending CU and joined the Post staff after graduation. He has also worked at the Oregonian in Portland, Ore., and The Sporting News. His seventh book, March 1939: Before the Madness, was issued in February 2014.